Is it adultery for a man to marry a divorced woman?
Posted : 23 Jan, 2026 12:25 PM
If I understand the scriptures correctly then it's only OK to marry a divorced woman if she was cheated on and that was the reason for the divorce. BUT I could be wrong so I leave room for that possibility.
Is it adultery for a man to marry a divorced woman?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2026 09:10 AM
It's not adultery when it was a biblical divorce. There are two reasons that make it a biblical divorce.
The first reason for which God allows divorce occurs when one spouse commits some sexual sin. That reason is given in Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9. The sexual sin referred to in both passages is called porneia in the Koine Greek. This word includes a wide variety of sexual sins. That is, God allows divorce when the other spouse commits sexual sin.
The second reason for which God allows divorce is given in 1 Corinthians. 7:12-15.
. . . if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, let him not send her away. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, let her not send her husband away . . . Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. 1 Corinthians. 7:12-15 (NASB)
What is the second reason for divorce? The answer is that when an unbelieving spouse wants to leave the believer. In this situation, if the unbeliever wants to leave, then the believer must allow the unbeliever to leave.
When a divorce occurs for one of these two reasons (sexual sin or the unbeliever wants a divorce), then the divorce is called a biblical divorce.
Another way rarely possible is when one of the divorced spouses becomes deceased. The other ex-spouse becomes a widow.
Is it adultery for a man to marry a divorced woman?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2026 10:35 AM
God always allows divorce. One can divorce for any and every reason.
What is a Biblical reason for divorce?
God does not condone divorce. GOD HATES THE PUTTING AWAY. God HATES DIVORCE. (Malachi 2:16)
Jesus said that MOSES gave you this command {NOT GOD} because your hearts were hard. (Matthew 19:8 and Mark 10:5) It was not this way from the beginning.
Jesus says, Mark 10:12, "And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Jesus says, "The man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." (Luke 16:18)
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 says, "To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
Now you guys are saying it is not adultery to marry a divorced woman if her husband cheated on her.
Where in scripture do you get that?
No wonder there is so much divorce with people thinking that there are Bible justifications for divorce.
David never divorced his ten wives that his son Absalom slept with, but they were put in seclusion.
David never divorced Michal though Michal had another man.
None of David's wives divorced him.
Divoce Divorce Divorce. The church has so much divorce. Amazing all the divorce. Jesus spoke against it and we condone it. God hates it. But we excuse it. People misinterpret spots of scripture than promote divorce. After Jesus clearly spoke against divorce, we go on to advocate it. After the Bible associate remarriage as adultery and after Matthew 19:10 tells us that "If this is the situations between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry," then people distort the words of Jesus to justify divorce.
Too often Matthew 19 gets twisted.
We are free to sin. We have free choice.
Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. (1 Corinthians 6:12 and 1 Corinthians 10:23)
Just because God ALLOWS divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1-4) does not mean he CONDONES divorce. (Leviticus 21:7, Leviticus 21:14, Ezekiel 44:22, and Malachi 2:16)
A husband does not cause his unfaithful wife to commit adultery by divorcing her when while married, she had another man.
A husband causes his faithful wife to commit adultery by divorcing her. Then in her marrying another man, she commits adultery.
Jesus says, Matthew 5:32,
"But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
WHY DO YOU SAY IT'S OKAY TO MARRY DIVORCED WOMEN WHEN JESUS CALLS THIS ADULTERY?
Is it adultery for a man to marry a divorced woman?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2026 10:41 AM
1 Corinthians. 7:12-15 does not say it is okay to marry again after divorce.
Where does 1 Corinthians 7:12-15 say that it is okay to marry a divorced woman.
Paul says 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, " To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife."
Is it adultery for a man to marry a divorced woman?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2026 11:06 AM
I think the truth lies in whether divorce truly gives a person a do over. Does infidelity give someone married a do over? I believe it does otherwise infidelity wouldn't even be mentioned as a reason for divorce. Yes God hates divorce but why would God put the burden on the spouse that was cheated on through no fault of their own the burden of staying alone. The cheater has put themselves in the position of never being able to remarry but the one cheated on should be free to remarry.
If it's OK to have more than one wife then why would it not be OK for a man to remarry?
Is it adultery for a man to marry a divorced woman?
Posted : 24 Jan, 2026 02:04 PM
The topic is: "Is it adultery for a man to marry a divorced woman."
The subject is not about men remarrying.
The Bible has no restrictions on virgins. A virgin does not sin in marrying a man. A virgin does not commit adultery in marrying a divorced man. The Bible says that if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. (1 Corinthians 7:28) If there is sin in that, it is the man's sin. The topic is not about men remarrying, though we can include that in the topic. But the topic is: "Is it adultery for a man to marry a divorced woman?"
The topic is less about divorce. One can divorce for any and every reason. Then remain single after as the Bible encourages one to do after separation and divorce. (1 Corinthians 7:10-11)
THE TOPIC IS: "Is it adultery for a man to marry a divorced woman?" The answer from the Bible is "YES" it is adultery for a man to marry a divorced woman. There is no exception in scripture. Jesus calls every instance of a man marrying a divorced woman ADULTERY. But more, a man divorcing his faithful wife who ONLY HAD HIM, Jesus says that this causes her to commit adultery in her husband divorcing her and her then marrying another man. Jesus also says that a man who divorces his faithful wife who ONLY HAD HIM and no other man, then her husband marries another woman after divorcing her, Jesus calls this adultery. THEN THE MAN COMMITS ADULTERY.
The Bible is okay with a man having more than one wife. Only Paul makes a rule for the churches that a church leader should be the husband of but one wife. So his interests won't be more divided. (1 Corinthians 7:32-24)
It is wrong to divorce in the Bible.
In the Old Testament, under the Law, one was to get stoned for adultery, not divorced.
The New Testament, Joseph was kind. He did not want to expose Mary and have her subjected to public disgrace nor to be stoned.
IF one's wife joined flesh with another man, she commits adultery, and anyone that marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
A man may divorce his promiscuous wife. He may marry another.
The woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives.
Romans 7:2-3, By law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him. So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. (Romans 7:2-3)
Again, 1 Corinthians 7:39,
A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:39)
"Does infidelity give someone married a do over?"
The Bible does not advocate for divorce.
Mary was found with child. Joseph had not touched her. Matthew 1:19 (NASB) says "And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly." Joseph was engaged to be married.
Joseph thought to divorce his wife whom he had not ever touched because he found her to be pregnant by another man. There divorce was warranted. By law, he was to get a virgin and the woman he was marrying did not seem to be a virgin as she was pregnant by another. Joseph did not want her stoned to death or exposed publicly so he thought to divorce her quietly and send her off.
Under Old Testament law, it is the man who writes a certificate of divorce, not the wife and not the government. But God hates divorce as the Bible clearly states.
HM, you say, "but why would God put the burden on the spouse that was cheated on through no fault of their own the burden of staying alone. The cheater has put themselves in the position of never being able to remarry but the one cheated on should be free to remarry." That is why Jesus says that a man who divorces his wife causes her to commit adultery. Unless she committed adultery while married, her husband causes her to commit adultery when he divorces her because a woman may feel no option but to marry someone else.
HM asks, "If it's OK to have more than one wife then why would it not be OK for a man to remarry?"
The Bible discourages divorce and marriage after divorce.
In the Bible, plainly, one is not to marry a divorced woman. A man sins to marry a divorced woman. He commits adultery. Too, a man commits adultery when he divorces his wife who was not promiscuous then marries another.
More of this is not really being taught in church. Church does not want to step on anyone's toes. But matters of marriage and matters of divorce are taught in the Bible. Things become twisted. Things become distorted. Many like to twist their favorite verse and give it a slant. People discard many verses to get their slant.
